Word: saigon
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...thought returning to Vietnam would be difficult. After all, my first attempt had not gone well. In October 1974, I left the country newly married to Nguyen thi Phuong Nga and for a new assignment in Rio de Janeiro. I had just completed two years in Saigon for TIME, reporting the chaotic endgame of a cruel war. Six months later, with Communist forces close to overrunning the country, I headed back to Saigon to try to bring out Nga's parents, five sisters and her brother. We had arranged visas to the U.S. for them from Rio, but they needed...
...returning to Vietnam is a lively, exhilarating experience with moments of giddiness. Wandering through Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month, I was charmed to see that painters were touching up the already-glistening white and gold trim on the old Saigon City Hall. Nga and I were married in that wonderful confection of a building. Could it be that the good comrade city fathers were refurbishing it in honor of our visit? A silly thought. No, they wanted it to look beautiful for the celebrations taking place this week to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon...
...though, Hanoi?always more dour than gaudy Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south?just might be starting to loosen up. "Who cares about the government?" shouts a refrigerator salesman swilling iced gin at the bar and listening to the Filipino country-and-western band. "What matters is what the people like." And the people can't get enough of cowboys. Happy hour at the Seventeen Saloon, from 5 to 8 p.m., is a convivial crush of Vietnamese cutting loose. One tip: if you're planning to pay a visit, make sure to get there early, as the action...
...Vietnamese are getting the chance to reacquaint themselves with Nhat Hanh. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the victorious communists folded all Buddhist sects into one state-controlled church, and monks who wouldn't submit were placed under pagoda arrest. Nhat Hanh's writings were seized by the authorities, and the monk was unable to get a visa to return to his homeland for nearly 30 years. After more than a year of negotiations, Hanoi allowed him and 200 followers to come back for four months of touring and teaching. (The government also allowed four of his books...
...Still peckish? Combine a trip to nearby Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens with a treat from the che stall at 25 Nguyen Binh Khiem street. Che are sweet desserts made from various combinations of fruit, beans, tapioca, sugar and sweetened coconut milk, and are hugely popular in the south of Vietnam. At this stall you'll find a refreshing che dau van (made with haricot beans) for a mere 5?. Then drive it home with a digestif of rau ma (liquified pennywort), available from the Ben Thanh market food hall for just 25?. That brings your three-course meal with...